I was tempted to put Bon Iver on the list just to get Jake's reaction, but...nah.

You are right, Jonas - I've been mulling this one over for a couple of days. Christ - best album of the last 15 years?

I'll go along with Neutral Milk Hotel. Inspired by this thread I started putting Aeroplane on heavy rotation, and it's amazing how well it holds up. If there can be only one, I'll have to vote for it even though Ugly Casanova was a close second on my list. 'Sharpen Your Teeth' has held up too.

I also wanted to consider the White Stripes but couldn't, because I still don't think they've ever put out a single record that was solid enough. Add all their stuff up and it's awesome, but every album has something (usually several somethings) that should make Jack and Meg wince.

Anyway, here's the list I had to winnow down (in no particular order):

Yeah, I'm sure if you thought about it too hard, this would be very difficult.

I just filtered by iTunes library by the years, and sorted by artist, and pulled out the albums I really, really love and consistently want to hear.

My friends and I are all getting older, and I've noticed that a lot of people stop listening to new music around the time they graduate from college. People need to be reminded that there's been a ton of great stuff released since then.

(Although it scares me a little to see that I don't have anything released after 2005 on my list... Maybe we need to start a new thread...)

I hate to be unoriginal, but: NMH, In the Aeroplane over the Sea. Not just one of the best albums of the last 15 years, but one of the best albums of all time. Pure songwriting that is harrowingly emotional, poetic yet DIRECT, crazy, unique sounds that never seem gimmicky or trendy, not drowned in reverb, etc.

So many others I'm tempted to put on but really only like 3-4 songs on, so I'm not sure those should count? You should be able to put a great album on and take it off when it's done. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

I've heard a lot of new stuff in the last 5-to-whatever years--tons of great songs, really good artists, but no great albums.

I'd like to give the nod to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but I absolutely love Summerteeth. I think the band lost something when Jay left. So that one for me is a real standout. And I think it's too often overlooked.

Man, if you go back another 4-5 years you'd get some incredible rock albums. Nirvana's Nevermind, Pear Jam's Ten. Some great Sonic Youth and Soundgarden. If I went back 20 years, though, I'd have to choose The Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinate Sadness. I can't think of another double album since then that's been so well received AND contained such a range of sounds. There isn't a band since that that has managed to pull off something like that. Not even The Smashing Pumpkins, and they've tried twice since. It's The Wall for generation X.

And the winner of the above list for best of the last 15 yrs? Primal Scream - Vanishing Point. Most of my list of true masterpieces would have gestation dates which extend beyond the 15-year mark, although I'd consider Vanishing Point and White Out to be timeless masterpieces. Is that an indicator that I'm getting old, that my criteria for masterpiece are notably stricter these days, or all of the above? Don't know... that's a discussion outside the scope of the original post.

If we're just doing personal preference, here's my list off the top of my head, though it's going to look like a hackjob Pitchfork list (without the obligatory world music selections):

Flaming Lips- YoshimiDeath Cab for Cutie- We Have the Facts and We're Voting YesWilco- SummerteethMorrissey- You Are the QuarryRadiohead- OK Computer (released in 1998 right? That's just on the cusp of 15 years. If Melon Collie is this generation's The Wall, this album is this generation's Dark Side of the MoonAgainst Me!- Searching For A Former ClarityNeko Case- Fox Confessor etc.Jay-Z- The Black AlbumThe Wrens- MeadowlandsArcade Fire- FuneralModest Mouse- Good News for People Who Love Bad NewsKanye West- The College DropoutThe Decemberists- PicaresqueThe Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in AmericaTV on the Radio- Return to Cookie MountainNew Pornographers- Twin CinemaSigur Ros- Aegitas Bynum or however the fuck it's spelledBritish Sea Power- Do You Like Rock Music?The Rosebuds- Life Like

Albums that would probably rank but I want to give them time to see if they age well:Superchunk- Majesty ShreddingThe National- High VioletThe Joy Formidable- A Balloon Called Moaning

Out of all of these, the best album (discounting Ok Computer)? That's a hard choice, each album is great in it's own way and at it's own point in time. Maybe Summerteeth? I know I'm forgetting something anyway...

Mixmaster Shecky wrote:I also wanted to consider the White Stripes but couldn't, because I still don't think they've ever put out a single record that was solid enough. Add all their stuff up and it's awesome, but every album has something (usually several somethings) that should make Jack and Meg wince.

Just curious what you think the weak spots are on White Blood Cells. "The Union Forever" is my least favorite song on that album, and even that is still pretty cool with its Citizen Kane references.